mteller wrote:"Polymorphously perverse" means they derive sexual pleasure for non-genital areas of the body. Either R0lf doesn't understand the term, or he needs to make his case better.

Magic Hate Ball wrote:It does refer to the early stage of sexual development where a child (one to five, I think) finds pleasure anywhere they can

Hey, Hulot does have a suspicious amount of fun with those leather chairs....

There is definitely something childlike about the chaste, tentative flirtations between Hulot and his leading ladies; and, perhaps separately, Hulot's interactions with technology and everyday objects probably fall somewhere in the "perverse" column, though perhaps naïveté is a better term. I'm not sure dragging Freud into it is very productive, though.

Self wrote:Does anyone know of an update to the Taschen book? I tried searching for it on their website and it seems to have disappeared. Even clicking the above link takes one to the main page of Taschen.

All references to the book have vanished from Taschen's site and the Amazon listing which I had saved on my wishlist no longer has a release date and has been relegated to "Currently unavailable" status. I hope the book hasn't been totally canceled; I was so looking forward to it.

Members have a two week period in which to discuss the film before it's moved to its dedicated thread in The Criterion Collection subforum. Please read the Rules and Procedures.

This thread is not spoiler free. This is a discussion thread; you should expect plot points of the individual films under discussion to be discussed openly. See: spoiler rules.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

I encourage members to submit questions, either those designed to elicit discussion and point out interesting things to keep an eye on, or just something you want answered. This will be extremely helpful in getting discussion started. Starting is always the hardest part, all the more so if it's unguided. Questions can be submitted to me via PM.

Ive only seen Playtime and Mon Oncle (and Holiday will be watched soon for school), but does anyone actually find Tati "funny"? Not a criticism, as I loved both films I've seen, but having everyone compare him to Chaplin seems foolish. Tati's films are droll, and are much more cinematically brilliant and amusing than out and out funny.

I didn't vote at all but here's a slightly abridged version of the programme note I wrote for a theatrical screening in January 1983, shortly after Tati's death. I was already familiar with the film; indeed it was the first Tati I ever saw, as for many years it was the only one available to UK TV (ITV weekend matinees, which now seems incredible!) Like many newbie film graduates, I took a rather severe view of comedies when I wrote the following piece at the age of 21 and I hadn't seen Playtime at all. Trafic now seems to me like a footnote to that much more ambitious film.

"An idiosyncratic film by any standards, Trafic is Tati's satire on the absurdities and dangers of our dependence on the motor vehicle. It's a highly digressive work, de-emphasising narrative, farcical gags and Hulot in favour of quietly observational humour. This ranges from the documentary (candid shots of bored drivers yawning and picking their noses) to the near abstract (a montage of visual patterns formed by road lines and reflections, synchronised to jazz). The film defies categorisation: the tone of (comic) failure and ultimately desolation suggest a parody of a road movie. It's often a gentle, subtle film, yet there are intimations of real danger and violence: a cruel practical joke involving a car wheel and what appears to be a crushed small dog; a life-size plaster bust smashed to bits in a multiple collision.

Hulot's disastrous trip from Paris to the Amsterdam motor show is ironically contrasted with the successful parallel journey by American astronauts to the moon. But Tati also uses this space journey - glimpsed on TV screens at various points - to emphasise our obsession with technology. There's no place for Nature in this new technological world unless it can be artificialized, as in the stage for the camping vehicle at the motor show, composed of cardboard trees and recorded bird sounds. Technology controls our lives to the point of sterile regimentation. As the film ends, pedestrians are forced to walk in geometrical lines between rows of jammed cars. But Tati implies it's only by becoming a pedestrian that we can begin to recover our human values."

(I somewhat disagree with my younger self: for all Tati's satire of technology, his films above all convey his fascination with it - and I suspect he'd have loved the digital age!)

The book has reappeared in the Taschen Catalogue again: https://issuu.com/taschen/docs/taschen_ ... es_tam.pdf (page 58). Scheduled for November.
It seems that is has changed to just the five books. Maybe the soundboard and playset were too much of a hassle. I'm happy that it might be released after all this time.

Hi Tati fans. It took a lot longer than we expected (7 years!) but the TASCHEN book set will finally be released this November. There will also be a very limited edition that comes with the bonus items (Villa Arpel model, sound box, etc).
It made me happy to stumble on this discussion and to see that some of you are looking forward to reading Tati's screenplays. I can confirm that the complete scripts of all of Tati's features, plus The Illusionist and Confusion, are included. They take up the entire Volume 2.

alisoncastle wrote:Hi Tati fans. It took a lot longer than we expected (7 years!) but the TASCHEN book set will finally be released this November. There will also be a very limited edition that comes with the bonus items (Villa Arpel model, sound box, etc).
It made me happy to stumble on this discussion and to see that some of you are looking forward to reading Tati's screenplays. I can confirm that the complete scripts of all of Tati's features, plus The Illusionist and Confusion, are included. They take up the entire Volume 2.

Hi Tati fans. It took a lot longer than we expected (7 years!) but the TASCHEN book set will finally be released this November. There will also be a very limited edition that comes with the bonus items (Villa Arpel model, sound box, etc).
It made me happy to stumble on this discussion and to see that some of you are looking forward to reading Tati's screenplays. I can confirm that the complete scripts of all of Tati's features, plus The Illusionist and Confusion, are included. They take up the entire Volume 2.

Is there a way to purchase either the "very limited" or the (I suppose) "not so very limited" editions? As much as my bank may wish otherwise, I would like to purchase the former and will certainly purchase the latter at the least.

I'm assuming the screenplays are all in French. What's the liklihood they're translated into English?

Why wouldn't they be translated to English in the English edition?

Edit: Oh I guess I could see some of the handwritten stuff not being translated. One of the photos does show an English translation of Mr. Hulot's Holiday though.

Thanks! I missed that it was listed as an English edition. Now that you've drawn me to that detail and the image of the translated Les vacances script, my anticipation is even more piqued. Now to decide whether to order from Amazon or hold out for the ridiculous version with all the goodies.

All scripts have been translated for the English edition except (1) Jour de fête, because the only existing script is incomplete and heavily annotated, and (2) Trafic, because there was already an English version that was used by the non-francophone crew members (the film was shot in Holland), so we used that version. However, the reproductions of original script pages, which serve as illustrations, are in French.

The book is now available for preorder here. I will post a link to the limited edition version when the listing goes live, which should be very soon. I don't yet know what the price will be, but it will be pricey for sure. And there will only be 112 copies. Maybe somebody here will guess why that number was chosen?